1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data communications. More particularly, the invention relates to a digital data interface device message format.
2. Background
Computers, mobile telephones, mobile telephone cameras and video capture devices, personal data assistants, electronic game related products and various video technologies (e.g., DVD's and high definition VCRs) have advanced significantly over the last few years to provide for capture and presentation of increasingly higher resolution still, video, video-on-demand, and graphics images. Combining such visual images with high quality audio data, such as CD type sound reproduction, DVDs, and other devices having associated audio signal outputs, creates a more realistic, content rich, or true multimedia experience for an end user. In addition, highly mobile, high quality sound systems and music transport mechanisms, such as MP3 players, have been developed for audio only presentations to users.
The explosion of high quality data presentation drove the need to establish specialized interfaces that could transfer data at high data rates, such that data quality was not degraded or impaired. One such interface is a Mobile Display Digital Interface (MDDI), used, for example, to exchange high speed data between the lower and upper clamshells of a cellular telephone that has a camera. MDDI is a cost-effective, low power consumption, transfer mechanism that enables very-high-speed data transfer over a short-range communication link between a host and a client. MDDI requires a minimum of just four wires plus power for bi-directional data transfer that delivers a maximum bandwidth of up to 3.2 Gbits per second.
In one application, MDDI increases reliability and decreases power consumption in clamshell cellular telephones by significantly reducing the number of wires that run across a handset's hinge to interconnect the digital baseband controller with an LCD display and/or a camera. This reduction of wires also allows handset manufacturers to lower development costs by simplifying clamshell or sliding handset designs.
While MDDI and other data interfaces can be used to efficiently provide high speed data rates across interfaces, interface systems that exchange data received over an MDDI or other data interface link are often slow and not optimized for a particular application, such as, for example, processing camera images and control data to be exchanged between the lower and upper clamshell portions of a cellular telephone.
What is needed is a digital data device interface to provide efficient processing of data gathered and exchanged over an MDDI or other high speed link. Commonly owned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/285,379, entitled Digital Data Interface Device, filed Nov. 23, 2005, describes such a device. The present application describes a message format that can be used within a digital data interface device.